






^^-^^^ 













^". % 









^^0^ 




v^ .•j:^'* <^. 





























'oK 







^^-^^ 



- -i^ . -• • 







5- ^- • 












a\' "^** • • . • 







"^0^ 






o. -' 




































C^ * 






A - . . . .C*" "^ '" • » • -A <> ' • • • 





>^ • 





'^^. *'-•' s^"^ 










"^o^ 



5>'^, 



'A^ 




• .^^-"^ 


















Remarks Suggested 
by 

Three Autograph Letters 



James T. Edwards 










/ 



a 



C^nytk-^t-- <2a:A-S. T-cy^^<2:JL /<- /'>'. <2<2Z^^z''<2 2- <;Z^ <s^*^yT. /^£>^ ^V^T, j 




^ 




• /■- '> * ' • >L. / ' •^,- ^ ;? 

, . . ^ : .. _ '-_■- ^- ^ 4-'c--f^ i- ..<: X .i"<^ '^ <ur . --«?• --V- < X. ,'>^>i2.xSf•^»- 
^^«. ^C^- . _ , ^ , 

y^ ^j^ yC^^-^^;ir.y''-^> •^~- -' y£^-^ ^ t' ^ i^ ii^ /^ct. A 

/t-^^ 'Zy/^-> -'■ c^.t^{ £^^ ^x-jk. /y' . -.' i ^.. c,~ v^i-v- <^.<.->v. 

>^ 7' ■ r^ >'»' , >" '' yy - 

^ ^ . ^-f^ .^^^ ^ ' ^ ^ - . ' , y ^ > ^ '^ . ^ 










Washington's headquakters at newburgh. 



REMARKS SUGGESTED 



by Three Autograph Letters of 



GEORGE AND MARTHA WASHINGTON 



Delivered before the McDonogh School 
October 19, 1897, by 



JAMES T.^'EDWARDS 



McDonogh, Md. 

Printed by Boys of the School 

1897 






GIFT 

MRS. WOODRCW WILSON 

NOV. 25, 1939 



ADDRESS. 



It has seemed to me appropriate to commence our 
course of lectures for the winter by talking to you about 
three autograph letters, two of which were written by 
General Washington, and one by his wife. There is special 
propriety in such a talk being given to-day, as this is the 
anniversary of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, which virtu- 
ally ended the Revolutionary War, and crowned with success 
the efforts of Washington and his associates. The thoughts 
suggested by these le.tte?;s may help to inspire you to 
become loyal, patriotic citizens. 

Washington is the greatesft of Americans, and the best 
teacher by example of the things for which every citizen of 
this country should strive. There has been much debate in 
regard to the question, what knowledge is worth most, but 
it has been generally agreed that boys should learn at school 
what they will use when they become men. It is not always 



f^ote. — Some time since, Mr. German H. Hunt gave to the 
library of McDonogh School photographic negatives of three auto- 
graph letters, two of which were written by Washington, and one by 
Martha Washington. The engravings in this pamphlet are fac- 
similes of the originals. 



2 THREE AUTOGj^ni LETTERS 

easy to know beforehand what tasks they will be called upon 
to perlonn ; there is, however, one line ol duties to which 
every boy in the United States will certainly be called — he 
will be a citizen of a great, free, enlightened country, and 
must bear some part in managing its affairs. He may not 
become a farmer, engineer, lawyer or doctor, but he must be 
a citizen, unless he is like the unfortunate described by Dr. 
Edward Everett Hale in his remarkable story, "A man without 
a country." Boys, I salute you, citizens of the great Republic, 
future rulers of what will undoubtedly be, in your own time, 
the most powerful and influential nation in the world. You 
must strive to be like Washington ; not that you will be as 
great, wise and famous, but you may have his spirit and 
patriotism. What is patriotism ? The love of country. 
How may a boy become strong in the love of country ? By 
learning how much there is in that country worthy to inspire 
love. Let me help you to set about a line of study which 
should be life-long and aid in making you appreciate your 
noble birthright. 

In trying to understand how great and worthy your 
country is, your inquiries may take three directions : first, 
find out about its natural resources, — its extent of territory, 
mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, its treasures of mineral 
wealth, its glorious forests, fertile plains, its beauty and 
sublimity, the amazing variety and richness of its products, 
the healthfulness of its climate, and the advantages of its 
situation ; second, you should learn about its people, insti- 
tutions and methods of government, its industries, manufactures, 
commerce, cities, and especially such facts as will make you 
intelligent voters, well acquainted with the relations of the 
citizen to the township, city, state and nation; third, nothing 
tends more strongly to cultivate the love of country than to 
become familiar with the biographies of the nation's noble 



THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS 3 

men and women — those who have served it with distinction, 
soldiers, statesmen, orators, scholars, inventors, authors, min- 
isters, philanthropists, artists, and those less prominent but 
not less patriotic who have been the pioneers of its settle- 
ments, who have levelled its forests, fought its battles, and 
on sea and land have made the stirring chapters of our 
history. Such studies will make you proud of your coun- 
try and anxious to perform a manly part in imitation of so 
much that is worthy. 

This day naturally invites us to a brief study in the 
third department of inquiry which I have mentioned — the 
lives of the nation's noble men and women ; but as we spend 
only a few minutes here this afternoon, we have just time 
enough to consider some things connected with a few men 
and historical events which are suggested by the reading of 
three letters. 

The first was written to Major George Augustine Wash- 
ington, nephew of the President. 

Newdurgh 14 Nov. 1782 
Dear Georjje, 

I have received your letter of tlie 23d. ulto. from Berkeley 
& am sorry to find tliat your fever & pain in Breast still continues 
— If they have not left you 'ere this gets to hand, you had in my 
opinion best take a trip southward— Dr. Craik advises one to the 
West Indies if there is the least appearance of disorder falling 
upon the lungs:— the only objection I see to this is, that the Vessel 
may be captured & a disagreeable captivity— perhaps imprison- 
ment—may add to your complaints ; when possibly a southern 
climate during the winter may be equally effecatious 

If you should make choice of the latter experiment to recover 
your health & should go as far as the Southern Army, this letter 
shown to General Green, will, I am persuaded, procure you every 
aid, assistance, and advice that may be in his power to afford you ; 
& I request you to make use of it accordingly. 



4 THREE AUTOGRAP^LETTERS 

The Army has retired into Winter Quarters — tlie principal part 
of it in this vicinity, where I liave taken and sliall remain in the 
same confined Quarters I had last spring. There is no duty for you 
to return to at present, consequently there can be no cause for your 
anxiety to rejoin the Army,— but if there was, ill health is a suffi- 
cient plea for absence, & an attempt to recover it, a consideration 
to which every other should yield. — 

We have no certainty of what the British Cabinet design, — 
various are the reports and all equally vajjue, — My own opinion 
of the matter is, tliat the unwillingness of the King & his present 
Prime Minister Lord Shelburn to acknowledge tiie Independency 
of this country, is such, as to induce them to trust to the chapter 
of accidents ( altho' by so doing they hazard all ) rather than 
swallow tiiis bitter pill. — The negociations are going on — but very 
limpingly— this winter will, no doubt, bring them to a conclusion ; 
but whether they will terminate in a peace or protraction of the 
war, is beyond my ken. — 

Remember me in the most affectionate manner to your Father, 
Mother & all friends; and be assured that I am with great truth, 
& affection, & best wishes for your recovery, — 

Yrs 

G. Washington. 

While these letters are not without some defects in 
spelling and punctuation, one cannot fail to notice the neat- 
ness and clearness with which they are wiitten, especially 
those of Washington ; the penmanship is handsome and they 
furnish a very good illustration of the painstaking thorough- 
ness with which he performed all his duties whether little or 
great. When he was a boy, his copy books showed the 
same accuracy which characterizes the account books and 
state papers of his later life. In one of his miscellaneous 
books, when he was under sixteen years of age he wrote 
out for his guidance fifty-seven "Rules of behaviour in com- 
pany and conversation," and added several moral maxims, 
the last of which gives the key to his character: "Labor to 



THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS 5 

keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, 
Conscience." 

The three places where these letters are dated are well 
worthy of our remembrance in connection with the struggle 
for independence and the organization of our government ; they 
are Newburgh on the Hudson, Mount Vernon by the Potomac, 
and Philadelphia on the Delaware. The first is situated on 
the west side of the beautiful river, often called the Rhine of 
America, sixty miles north of New York, just above the High- 
lands, in which locality were enacted so many stirring scenes 
during the Revolution. The old Dutch house, built of stone, 
where the first of these letters was written, is now owned by 
the state and is annually visited by thousands of people. 
Here Washington performed the noblest act in his great 
career by declining to become a king, and thereby proved to 
the world how unselfish and pure was his love of country. 
You must know that the long war had impoverished the 
people and there was great discontent in the army because 
neither officers nor soldiers had received any pay for many 
months. Congress saw no way to help them, and many 
people seriously doubted whether such a government as existed 
would be strong enough to rule the country efficiently. 
They thought it would be better to model our government 
after that of Great Britain and have a king. When 
approached upon this subject, Washington replied as follows : 
"I am at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could 
have given encouragement to an address which to me seems 
big with the greatest mischief that can befall my country. 
If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself you could 
not have found a person to whom your schemes are more 
disagreeable. Let me conjure you, then, if you have any 
regard for your country, concern for yourself or posterity, or 
respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your mind and 



THREE AUTOGRA£iI I.K ITKUS 



/^i 



never communicate from yourself or any one else a senlinient 
of a like nature." 

With tact and kindness but with the greatest firmness he 
counselled patience and utterly refused to listen to any sug- 
gestions of personal ambition. Thus, like Cincinnatus, he was 
even greater in declining and surrendering power, than in 
assuming responsibility when summoned by the call of duty. 

You will notice that Washington, in the letter, refers 
to the delay in securing peace. Cornwallis had surrendered 
his whole army of about eight thousand men at Yorktown 
on the 19th of October, 1781, yet, at this date, November 
14, 1782, George III. still refused to let the colonies go free ; 
but, only sixteen days after this, a preliminary treaty of peace 
was signed by the Commissioners at Paris. This was not 
fully ratified, however, until five months later. Here at 
Newburgh a cessation of hostilities was proclaimed April 19, 
1783, just eight years to a day from the battle of Lexington, 
where the first blood was shed in behalf of independence. 
The proclamation of peace was read at the head of every 
regiment, and Washington issued orders that "the chaplains 
of the several brigades will render thanks to Almighty God 
for all his mercies, particularly for his overruling the wrath 
of man to his own glory and causing the rage of war to cease 
among the nations." 




MT. VERNON. 



THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS 7 

Fifteen miles south of the capital, on the west bank of the 
Potomac, amid beautiful scenery, is Mt. Vernon, a shrine 
toward which the loving thought of every American turns. 
Forty years ago, the house and six acres of land surrounding 
it were purchased by the Ladies' Mount Vernon Association 
for two hundred thousand dollars, and the place is now pre- 
served as a national possession. 

It was named for Admiral Vernon, with whom Lawrence 
Washington, an older half-brother of George, served in the 
British Navy. Here Washington spent his happiest days, 
and here he died December 14, 1799, in the sixty-eighth year 
of his age, his last words being, "It is well." 

The letter which follows suggests many interesting in- 
quiries, but is unusually valuable as revealing his fondness for 
rural life, his love of trees, and his desire to advance the 
material interests of the states by facilitating transportation, 
of which, we must infer from what he writes about the 
difficulties of travel, the whole country stood sadly in need. 

Mount Vernon 6th Jan. 1785 
Dear Georjie, 

As soon as I got your letter announcing your intention of 
spending the winter at Charleston I wrote you by Post under 
cover to Col' Willm Washington — sometime after by Mr Laurens 
— by whom also I forwarded the articles of clothing you desired 
might be sent to you — there can be little doubt (as the Post now 
goes regularly) of both getting to hand. I need not therefore 
repeat any part of the contents of those letters. — I had the 
pleasure to hear yesterday from Col' Parker of Norfolk — that you 
had left the Island of Bermuda with encreased health. — I flatter 
myself the mildness of a Southern winter will perfectly restore 
you — in addition to this, a trip in the Packet to Philadelphia when 
you determine to return to Virginia may be of service — this at a 
proper season w. be I conceive the easiest, cheapest, and best 
method of getting back, as the Stage from Philadelphia comes to 



8 THREK AUTOGKAPH LKTTERS 



^GRJ 



Alexandiia twice a week regularly — You would by this iiitMiis 
avoid the dreary roads & bad accomodation wliicli is to be en- 
countered I am told all throu<;li North Carolina. — 

Since my last Col' IJassett has been here and brought up Fanny, 
who is here with us. — She has been sick all the Fall, as most others 
in this country have been — she is not yet recovered ; but the change 
of air and exercise will soon give her health. 

We have nothing new in this Quarter — our assembly has been 
sitting since the middle of last October — but we have little infor- 
mation of what they have done— A plan is set on foot for improv- 
ing & extending the navigation of this river by private subscription 
& opening a good road between it and tlie nearest western waters 
— I hope it will succeed, as the Assemljly of this state & Maryld. 
seem disposed to give it their Countenance. If it is not too late 
in the Season to obtain them, I wish you would procure for me 
in S' Carolina a few of the acorns of the live Oak — and the seeds 
of the Evergreen Magnolia — this latter is called in Millers Gar- 
deners dictionary greater Magni)lia — it rises according to his ace' 
to the height of Eighty feet or more, flowers early and is a beautiful 
tree — but unless these seeds grow in cones and the cones are 
yet on the Trees, there is no chance of obtaining them at this 
season, in which case prevail on Col' Washington, or some 
acquaintance on whom you can depend to supply me next seed 
time. — 

The Acorns and seeds of every kind should be put in dry sand 
as soon as they are gathered, and tiie box which contains tlieni 
might ( if no oppertunity offers to Alexandria, be sent either to Mt. 
Vernon or Norfolk, or to Col' Biddle of Philadelphia with a request 
to forward it safely & by first oppertunity. — If there are any 
other trees ( not natives with us) which would be ornamental in a 
grove or forest and would stand our climate I should be glad to 
procure the seeds of them in the way above mentioned. All here 
unite in best wishes for you. and Mrs. Washington too joins me in 
compliments to Col' Washington and Lady, & other friends of our 
acquaintance. 

With great esteem and regard 

I am Dr George 

Yr Affect friend 

G, Washington. 



THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS 9 

P. S. Your father and family were well some little time ago 
and I have heard nothing to the contrary since. 

G W. 

Col. Wm. Washington to whom reference is made in 
this letter was a kinsman of Washington, and like him was 
tall and well formed — General Washington was six feet 
two inches in height. William Washington was an able 
soldier, frank, generous and popular with the army, but 
very modest and no orator. It is said that he declined an 
election to the Legislature because he could not make a 
speech. He was ingenious in stratagem as well as brilliant 
in a charge. At Clermont he captured a log fort defended 
by an embankment and abatis, by bringing up a quaker 
gun, which consisted of a log, shaped and painted like a 
cannon, mounted on two wagon wheels. Deploying his 
cavalry he sent in a flag summoning the garrison to sur- 
render instantly upon pain of having their castle battered 
about their ears. Col. Rugely, the commander, and one 
hundred and twelve men gave themselves up as prisoners 
of war, outnumbering their captors. At the battle of Cowpens 
he charged with his dragoons upon Col. Tarleton, the latter 
narrowly escaping capture. This gave rise to a keen retort 
made by an American lady, Mrs. Ashe. One day in her 
presence Col. Tarleton sneeringly remarked, "I would be 
happy to see this Col. Washington." She promptly replied, 
"If you had looked behind you. Col. Tarleton, at the battle 
of Cowpens, you might have had that pleasure." 

Nothing can be more delightful than the picture of 
Washington's domestic and social life at the time this letter 
was written. The war was ended, the land free, and while 
many grave matters of state remained to be settled, for a brief 
interval he enjoyed sweet repose and those peaceful occupa- 
tions which always possessed for him the greatest charm. 



lO THREE AUTOGRAl'Il LETTERS 

Washington Irvint^, whose Hie oi Washington you would 
all enjoy reading, in a delightful way decribes him as engaged, 
this very year (1785), in beautifying his grounds and indulging 
to the fullest extent his love of nature. He says : "We find 
in his diary, noted down with curious exactness, each day's 
labor and the share he took in it ; his frequent rides to the 
Mill Swamp, Dogue Creek, the Plantation of the Neck, and 
other places along the Potomac in quest of young elms, ash 
trees, white thorn, crab apples, maples, mulberries, willows 
and lilacs : the winding walks which he laid out, and the trees 
and shrubs he plants along them. Now he sows acorns and 
buckeye nuts brought by himself from the Monongahela ; now 
he opens vistas through the Pine Grove, commanding distant 
views through the woodlands ; and now he twines round his 
columns scarlet honeysuckles which his gardener tells him 
will blow all summer. His care worn spirit freshens up in 
these employments. With him Mt. Vernon is a kind of idyl. 
The transient glow of poetical feeling which once visited his 
bosom, when in boyhood he rhymed beneath its groves, seems 
about to return once more ; and we please ourselves by noting, 
among the trees set out by him, a group of young horse- 
chestnuts from Westmoreland, his native county, the haunt of 
his schoolboy days, which had been sent him by Colonel Lee 
(Light Horse Harry), the son of his "Lowland Beauty." A 
diagram of the plan in which he had laid out his grounds 
still remains among his papers at Mount Vernon ; the places 
are marked on it for particular trees and shrubs. Some of 
those trees and shrubs are still to be found in the places thus 
assigned to them. It is deeply interesting to find traces of 
these toils in which Washington delighted, and to know that 
many of the trees that give Mount Vernon its present um- 
brageous beauty were planted by his hand." 

It is perhaps amid such familiar scenes as these that 



THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS II 

Washington brings himself most completely within the range 
of ordinary sympathy and appreciation. After all, the boy 
and the man are greater than the Commander-in-chief and 
the President. 

There is something awe-inspiring and remote, especially 
to boys, in the Washington of the canvas and the marble. 
The majestic face of yonder picture looks down benignantly 
upon us, but there is such impressiveness about his person, 
particularly when associated with his great qualities, to say 
nothing of the impossible virtues which some historians have 
attributed to him, that he does not always stand before the 
youthful mind as warm flesh and blood, with passions like 
our own. Think to-day, if you will, of Washington the boy 
and the man, rather than the warrior and the ruler. The 
former made possible the latter. His running, leaping, wrest- 
ling, pitching quoits and throwing bars, swimming, riding, 
rowing, fishing, hunting, and all other youthful exercises in 
which he delighted, were the expression of a robust healthy 
nature, and fitted his body and resolute spirit for endurance 
and the performance of worthy deeds. 

He was at school to nature for the training of the clear 
eye, the quick ear, strong hand, swift foot and healthy brain. 
There was a relation between that tossing of the silver dollar 
(Irving says it was a stone) across the Rappahannock at 
Fredericksburg, and his "flinging an English sovereign 
across the Atlantic." I like to commend to you to-day this 
spirited boy, this lover of horses, and dogs ; the lad who 
liked to stop with his gun the wild duck's flight, and feel 
the keen thrill along his nerves when a big fish struck 
his hook ; this youth who, long before his majority, was 
surveying the wilderness, fording its streams, or, in perilous 
journey over the Alleghanies, matching his strength and skill 
against those of the savage lords of the forest. This was 



12 THRKK AUTOGRArH LETTFRS 

"manual training" of a very substantial kind in a ruj^ged yet 
kindly school. 

There is an increasing interest in the efitbrts of educators to 
realize the ancient ideal of "a sound mind in a healthy body." 
You are to be congratulated in having here at McDonogh, 
on this wide estate, so many opportunities for strengthening 
and perfecting that delicate and wonderful instrument of the 
soul, the human body. But some may say, "All cannot be 
large and powerful like Washington, and some may have 
infirmities which are beyond remedy." To such there 
comes the comforting assurance that the will is superior to 
the flesh. Dr. Kane, the arctic explorer, always a man of 
delicate health, once said, "The will can lift the body out of 
its boots." 

Lord Nelson had but one eye, and a left arm only, and 
was generally sick when the sea was rough, but he became 
the greatest of naval heroes and won the battle of Trafalgar. 

The Duke of Turenne, the ablest general France has 
produced next to Napoleon, was a physical coward. One 
day, as he was mounting his horse upon the eve of a great 
battle, he said to his trembling knees, "You would tremble 
worse if you knew where I am going to take you to-day." 
Never forget that while physical perfection is greatly to be 
desired the soul may be and should be king of the body. 

Martha Washington survived her husband two years and 
a half. Shordy before her death she destroyed her entire 
correspondence with him, not wishing that their confidences 
should become a subject for public discussion. The letter 
which follows is devoted to domestic affairs, but there are 
allusions which suggest matters of general importance. 

Philadelphia, July tlie 29111 1794 
My dear Fanny 

I am Rlad to hear by your letter of last week that you and 
your cliildren are all well— I ihank you for your kind offer of 



THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS I3 

liaviiig tlie curtains taken down — I shall be obliged to you" to 
make Caroline take all the curtains and winder curtains down 
and all the cotton curtains washed before they are put away — be 
so good my dear Fanny to have everything in the garrets cared 
out, to air all the beds and bed clothes of all sorts and kinds 
A good airing now may serve till the spring. 

I am truly sorry to hear that Mrs. Craik is so much afflicted, 
as it was an event that she must have expected long before it 
happened, I really pity them both — I have often been told that he 
was a very promising youth. 

I think that the President is very much the same as he was 
when he came home, the complaint in his back confines him a 
good deal to the liouse, he has never been on horseback since 
his return nor does he seem to have any inclination to ride on 
horseback — 

Nellie went up to the Delaware works last week to Mr. Morris 
Country seat she was to return tomorrow but there has been so 
much rain that it will be very inconvenient to travel for this day 
or two— when the rain holds up — this is the third day it has been 
raining. 

Wash and myself are very well Mr. Dandridge is better— I 
don't.know what is tiie matter with him — he has never been well 
since he came from Mount Vernon— he was sick all the time he 
was there in the fall — 

My love to tiie children— the President joins me in love to 
you— be so good as to remember me to Mrs Craik and all inquir- 
ing friends. 

I am my dear Fanny your most affectionate 

M. Washington. 

I expect to go to Germantown sometime this week I hope 
the change of air will be of service to us all— it is about six miles 
from this city. 



The Fanny addressed was a niece of Mrs. Washington and 
the wife of her husband's nephew, George Augustine Washing- 



I4 THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS 

ton. After his death, she became the second wife of Mr. Lear, 
a warm i'riend of the President, whom he served as secretary, 
and wlio has given us the fullest account of his death. 

Mrs. Washington was short in stature, having light hair 
and hazel eyes. Mr. Custis, her first husband, was nearly twice 
her age when he married her at the age of sixteen. While 
in every way fitted to adorn her high station it will be seen 
from this letter that she was also an excellent housekeeper. 
She was very industrious, and during the dreadful winter at 
Valley Forge she set an excellent example to the wives of 
officers by knitting stockings for the soldiers. This letter 
was written in Philadelphia, where Congress had just been in 
session, having adjourned June 9, 1794. Its meetings had 
been held in the old State House, now called Independence 
Hall, one of the most celebrated structures in the United 
States ; for here the Declaration of Independence was voted 
July 4, 1776, and here assembled the Convention, presided over 
by Washington, which framed the Constitution. The famous 
bell of Independence Hall first rang out the message of 
freedom. It had often been used before to sound alarms 
or lead rejoicings. At midnight, October 23, 1781, a tired 
horseman rode into the city and knocked so loudly at the 
door of Thomas McKean, President of Congress, that a 
watchman threatened to arrest him. Put his rudeness was 
overlooked when his tidings were told. When the watch- 
man, going his rounds, next announced the hour, he added 
"All's well, and Cornwallis is taken." Then this old Liberty 
bell roused the people from their slumbers with its loudest 
peals of rejoicing. 

Philadelphia was at this time the largest city in the 
Union. It had sixty thousand inhabitants. Now it has 
more than one million one hundred and fifty thousand. 
Marvelous growth for a hundred years ! It was at the date of 






•^rr 






A.i'v A'^ /X. .WC, A'*--'' ^-"^ f ^.^>'~t */.^t J>V^ ^.^A^^ 











; i<^iti.v - ^ iZv>v.v <->v.T -x/^^y v:^ ;%_*. Vv^-?Vv w^c 









"i 






^.<•^^ 



.'V'-^ C7 





■v 




^ - ", ft 


k 


.^^ 


: "^"^^ 


^^; 




-^ 




'^ x^- ^ . 


/ "^ 


^yW. 















INDEPENDENCE HALL. 




INDEPENDENCE HALL IN 1876. 



THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS I5 

this letter the seat of government. Washington with his family 
was still detained in the city though Congress had adjourned. 
It is worth remembering that nine different places have served 
as the capital of the country. Named in their geographical 
order from north to south they are as follows : New York, 
Princeton, Trenton, Philadelphia, Lancaster, York, Baltimore, 
Annapolis, and Washington — the last continuously since 
1800. 

Washington was now serving his second term. He was 
inaugurated April 30, 1789. Since that time inaugurations 
have taken place on the 4th of March, although, for several 
reasons, it would be better to have them occur on the former 
date, which marks the time when the new government went 
into full operation under the Constitution. Washington de- 
clined an election for a third term. 

We have had two kinds of government in this country. 
Colonial and National. The colonies were of three kinds as 
to the manner in which they were governed. One was ruled 
by a man called the Proprietor, who had obtained by purchase 
or otherwise great privileges from the King of England. 
Maryland under Lord Baltimore is an illustration of this. 
Other colonies, like New York and Virginia, were ruled by 
governors sent out directly by the English sovereign. 

The third kind, like Connecticut, received a charter from 
the king, which defined their duties and guaranteed their 
rights. Such charters were highly prized : you will remember 
the incident of the Charter Oak. The colonies sometimes 
came together in the persons of their delegates, to act as one, 
in times of common peril, especially during the Revolution. 
They were first called the "United States of America" in the 
Declaration of Independence, in 1776. For five years after 
this they were held together by their mutual interests in the 



l6 THREE AUTOGRAril LETTERS 

war, without any written bonds of union, being governed, 
with general consent, by the will of Congress. 

On March 2, 1781, Congress assembled under the direction 
of a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation, to which 
all the states agreed ; but these laws were soon shown by 
experience to be very defective, and after much discussion they 
were laid aside and all the people of the states agreed that they 
would be governed in accordance with another series of fund- 
amental laws which, taken together, are called the Constitution 
of the United States. 

As mentioned before, this went into operation at the time of 
Washington's inauguration, and has remained, with but few 
changes, the law of the land ever since. All laws made by 
Congress or the legislatures of the states must be in accord with 
the Constitution. 

To repeat, it will be seen that our country as a nation 
has been governed in three different ways, as follows : For 
the first five years the will of Congress was supreme ; from 
1 78 1 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation were the law of 
the nation ; since that time we have been under the Consti- 
tution. 

Some reference should be made to three persons men- 
tioned in the letter of Mrs. Washington. Mr. Dandridge 
to whom she alludes was doubtless a relative, as this was her 
maiden name, she being a daughter of Mr. John Dandridge. 
Mrs. Craik was the wife of Dr. James Craik who for forty 
five years was devotedly attached to Washington, sharing 
many of his dangers, and was present at his bedside to per- 
form the last sad offices of affection in the closing scene. 
Washington once spoke of him as "My compatriot in arms, 
my old and intimate friend." 

Dr. Craik has given us an interesting fact in connection 
with his commander at the battle of Monongahela where 



THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS I7 

Braddock was defeated. An Indian chief told him some 
years after, that he had been on a visit to Colonel Wash- 
ington, who, he believed, was under the especial protection 
of the Great Spirit and bore a charmed life ; for in this 
fight he had fifteen fair shots at him, and had also ordered 
his warriors to fire at him. Washington was unhurt, al- 
though every other mounted officer was either killed or 
disabled, and he received four bullets through his coat and 
had two horses shot under him. 

The "Mr. Morris" mentioned was Robert Morris, the great 
financier, who again and again aided the government by raising 
money to feed, clothe, and equip the soldiers. It has been 
said that without him the campaign which resulted in the 
surrender of Cornwallis could not have been undertaken. Yet 
he spent four of his last years in a debtor's prison, it being 
then the cruel custom to imprison for debt. He had engaged 
with Gouverneur Morris in large commercial enterprises in the 
East Indies and China and finally lost his fortune. 

Washington and his wife wrote to Mrs. Morris, urging 
her to come to Mount Vernon and stay under their roof as 
long as she should find it convenient, saying, "Be assured 
that we ever have and still do retain the most affectionate 
regard for you, Mr. Morris and the family." Gouverneur 
Morris, who was so closely associated in business with Robert 
Morris, was the person into whose hands was placed the draft 
of the Constitution of the United States for final revision. 
He was a man of dauntless courage. Being in Paris during 
the French Revolution, his carriage was attacked by a mob 
who cried "Aristocrat." He thrust his wooden leg out of the 
carriage window and shouted, "An Aristocrat ! yes, one who 
lost his leg in the cause of American Liberty !" They 
cheered, and let him pass. 



l8 THREE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS 

One other scene is suggested by this letter. On the 
day of the funeral of Washington, Congress was assembled 
in Independence Hall. A profound sadness oppressed the 
members. Although four days had clasped since the death 
of Washington, such were the difficulties of communicating 
intelligence that they had just learned of this event. The 
next morning, John Marshall, afterwards for thirty-four years 
Chief Justice of the United States, arose on the floor of 
Congress and delivered an eloquent eulogy upon the character 
and services of the illustrious dead ; he concluded his address 
by reading resolutions of respect which had been prepared 
by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. These close with the 
familiar words which will always be associated with the name 
of Washington, — "First in war, first in peace, and first in 
the hearts of his fellow-citizens." 



f 84 



•-"^^^ ... V "^ ,<^^ .... "V^ •-'\.^° ... '^^. '" .<y ... 



-.'f 






W\</ "v^S-^/^ \/^^\</ "v^S-^/^ "^^ 

v^\2i5iC*. > -i.*^ ►"k*"'* "^ ^ ^iJei^'^ '*'*^ ♦•k^i'- 






